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Game review: 'Company of Heroes 2' retains winning formula

By By Gieson Cacho, Contra Costa Times

Posted:
06/27/2013 06:03:24 AM EDT

Updated:
07/25/2013 05:26:50 PM EDT

(Relic Entertainment)

When it comes to real-time strategy games, there's "StarCraft," "WarCraft" -- and everything else. Blizzard's franchises blanket the genre so much that it's rare for anything to break through the company's dominance. But once in a while, a title does just that.

In 2006, Relic Entertainment impressed players by taking them to World War II and revealing a fresh take on the RTS. "Company of Heroes" was slower paced, hypertactical and brutally difficult. It was so different from its peers that it deserved recognition. No one had played anything like it before.

Thankfully, it sticks to its winning formula. Relic refines what it already has, introducing players to the Soviet side of the conflict and adding weather and ice effects that factor into the battle.

Most of the campaign focuses on Lt. Lev Isakovich, who leads a battalion of troops as they fend off the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. The story itself is boilerplate war drama as a former commander interviews Isakovich about his past, and players tackle the missions in Isakovich's flashbacks and other stories.

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That's where the heart of the campaign is, but don't expect Relic to hold players' hands as they learn "Company of Heroes 2." The developer tosses players in the deep end and expects them to swim. For novices, it will be frustrating to adjust to the flow of combat or figuring out how the tech tree and build structure function. Tactical moves such as laying out barbed wire or reconnaissance flights are glossed over or ignored, and it's up to players to discover them.

In the campaign, players will learn that it's not about the number of troops but how they use them. They'll have to keep soldiers warm in the Russian winter by moving them from fire to fire, or they'll have to use the environment and break the ice beneath an enemy tank to send it plunging into a river.

Missions are methodical and require players to soften up enemy bases with mortar fire before sending in tanks and other troops. It may require them to block off a choke point with machine gunners while flanking enemies with heavy armor on the side. It's all about micromanaging an army and letting the economy work itself out.

All of this prepares gamers for the online modes, where they team up or battle each other with armies they build from scratch. Whether it's in versus or co-op combat, speed is more of a factor, but successful commanders will know how to defend areas, flank and set up ambushes. It will test players' mettle, but the thrill of victory is as rewarding as any game as long as you have the patience.

Contact Gieson Cacho at 510-735-7076 or gcacho@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/gcacho.

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